GCARD soundbites: day 1

Today’s sessions were full of lively debate and insightful comment from a star cast in the world of agricultural research for development.

Here are some of the ‘soundbites’ from three key themes that emerged during the first day at GCARD.

On discussing how to improve agricultural research for development:

“We have all we need bar political will.” Jacques Diouf, Food and Agriculture Organization

“Finance is the name of the game.” Amin Ahmed Mohamed Othman Abaza, Egypt

“To alleviate poverty we have to go back to the grass roots.” Adnan Badram, Jordan

“Gender is critical.” Kathy Sierra, The World Bank

“Who will feed the world in 2050? It will not be the woman with a baby on her back and firewood on her head. It will be the youth of today. We must invest in our youth.” Kanayo Nwanze, International Fund for Agricultural Development

On discussing the need to involve all stakeholders:

“We are placing our bets on smallholders as being the engine of growth.” Prabhu Pingali, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation